Tag: Holiday Season

One of many awesome things to do in Minneapolis this Thanksgiving is to go for a run in few of its cool Thanksgiving races here in the city. A great way to spend some quality time with your family, bonding & getting that little exercise before you jump at the feast and spend the day watching football.

If you’re looking for things to do in Minneapolis & St. Paul on Thanksgiving Day, here are 5 of my favorite Thanksgiving Runs in 2015.

Top 5 Thanksgiving Day Races (Minneapolis & St. Paul)

Before you gobble down that turkey, you’ve got to make room for it first!

1. Lifetime Turkey Day Run Minneapolis 5K

This one has turn into a tradition of its own since its humble beginning in 1989. Now in its 26th year, the race starts and ends near the Target Center in Downtown Minneapolis. This family friendly race allows even strollers, so it would be more like a wonderful walk with great view of the city. If you wish, you can be timed from this year at the race. Runners with different paces can now join different wave start times.

A brand new addition to the race is the Largest Colony Contest in which families and friends can participate as a single unit by writing your “family name” while registering for the race. Family with the most numbers of runners at the run will win a $50 gift card to Cowboy Jacks.

When you register for the race, you’ll be given limited edition long sleeve race shirt, a chance for $5 Indoor Kids Care through Life Time Fitness, post-race foods and hot beverages, pre &postrace family carnival, even turkey bowling, and free race photos to capture your eventful day.

A great thing about this Thanksgiving run is that Life Time will match registration fee up to $10,000 and donate it to Second Harvest Heartland, one of the largest and efficient food banks in the country.

2. Turkey Trot St. Paul 6K & 10K

Even if this is things to do in Minneapolis on Thanksgiving Day, you may not want to miss out on St. Paul Turkey Trot as it is the latest Thanksgiving race gaining popularity with the runners and the cheering crowds alike. There will be support teams to keep runners hydrated throughout the race and they all will be getting a number of post-race refreshments as well as food items to keep them standing at the end of the day.

You will be running or walking along the Mississippi River and only the 10K race will be chip timed. Runners will get an authentic Turkey Trot St. Paul finisher’s medallion as well as cool long-sleeve performance T-shirt and you can get race results live online on Facebook or Twitter. Note: You will have to pick up your packet for the run before the race day.

3. Drumstick Dash 10K

Running around the Lake Harriet and at that twice is a great feat. When you start to get hot from running around the lake you’ll have the cool breeze to freshen you up right away all the while getting to see the beautiful lake from its entire angle. You will have chip timing by MTEC and all runners get a technical shirt. Talking about the technical aspects of the race, it is USATF certified and the course isn’t that rough, however, it is a bit hilly on north and south ends of the lake and smooth on east and west sides.

So not to let the race be over-crowded, the race organizers have put a limit to number of runners for the event which is just 1,500 and that’s why you will need to register early to get your spot.

If you are not up for the whole 10K race, don’t dread it. The event has a Cranberry Cruise One Mile, Cranberry kids Half Mile and even a Pi Run. As for the Pi Run, it’s only one lap around the lake and covers just 3.14 miles. Another thing, the Pi Run allows only 250 runners.

The organizers have also added two team challenges:

1) Wishbone Challenge for the fastest Drumstick Dash 10K team

2) Family Challenge for the largest family group in all events

There is $5 discount for each entry fee for groups of 4 or more participants for which you will have to register online at the same time.

4. IRIS Turkey Trot 5K & 10K

The holiday season is about to start and when we talk about holidays it’s all about family, friends and the center of attention – the kids. And, what a great way to celebrate children even in their death and to provide some sort of comfort for the grieving parents no matter how insignificant it may seem.

IRIS Turkey Trot helps spread awareness about pregnancy loss and infant death and simply is a nice way to celebrate the day for being thankful to all good things, however short it may have been. This race is organized by southernminnSCENE.com and all the proceeds are given to Infants Remembered In Silence, a non-profit organization. Both 5K and 10K runs will be timed.

5. Beast 2 Feast 5K

Beast 2 Feast 5K is another charitable race which helps children’s hospitals and clinics of Minnesota. You can register for this Thanksgiving race through Active.com. The registration covers a Beast 2 Feast custom T-shirt, Finisher’s medal and post-race refreshments. At the race venue, there will be a food shelf where you can donate canned food items which will be given to the Little Kitchen FoodShelf.

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